Saturday, November 26, 2011

Modern Christmas Mini (+ a very mini quilt hanging tutorial)

I'll say right off the bat that the inspiration for this mini quilt came straight from Megan of Canoe Ridge Creations. Her version can be found here. I just loved the idea - creating something that looks like Christmas, but is not covered in candy canes and reindeer! Don't get me wrong, I love all the Christmas fabrics I've been seeing around, but since I don't have any, this was a fun way to go. I went through my scraps and found 6 reds and 6 greens that I thought went together well, then followed this Circle of Geese tutorial.

I already went on and on about the block and my experience with paper piecing in this post so I won't repeat myself. On to the photos!


Okay, now a mini tutorial. I'm never sure what's the easiest way to make a quilt wall-hangable (new word... :) I've used this tutorial from Comfortstitching, which worked pretty well in the end but I found it tricky to execute and wanted to come up with something easier. My mind went to skinny ribbon, and I wondered if there was some way to machine stitch it onto the back of the quilt at the same time as the binding. This is what I came up with....


  1. Attach binding to quilt, completely as normal. Nothing unusual in this step. This photo obviously shows the front.
  2. The back of quilt with binding attached.
  3. Decide where you want your hanging loops to be. This quilt is very small so I only used two loops, placed about 2 inches in from each edge. Cut skinny ribbon to form loops. I cut roughly 5" pieces, and trimmed later. On the back side of the quilt, form a loop with the ribbon so it extends about 1/4" lower than the line of stitching from the binding attachment. I didn't measure, just eyeballed it. Not shown in the photo, but I used a little piece of masking tape to hold the ribbon in place while I stitched.
  4. Carefully stitch over the ribbon directly on top of stitches from binding attachment. Stitch and backstitch a couple of times over the ribbon to make sure it's really secure.
  5. Trim ribbon flush with edge of quilt.
  6. Proceed with binding as usual, by machine or by hand (my preferred method). When hand stitching binding, stitch right through ribbon as well as fabric when you get there.
  7. Ta-da!!
P.S. Yes, my ribbon is pink. That's all I had in super skinny ribbon and I figured that it wouldn't be visible anyways so why not!

Linking up with the following:

{Sew} Modern Monday @ Canoe Ridge Creations

Sew Darn Crafty @ Sew Many Ways
Manic Monday @ Sew Happy Geek
Made With Love @ Sew Chatty
Made by You Monday @ Skip to my Lou
Little Quilt Monday @ Pieceful Life

13 comments:

Debbie said...

This is so darling! I really need to try that block pattern too! Love that you made if from red & green but not Christmas fabrics! Nice little 'hanging' tutorial, too - thanks!!

Kirsten said...

I love the mini quilt Heather and thank you for the hanging tutorial too!

Jessica said...

super cute heather!

Poppyprint said...

sweet!! If your quilt is slightly larger and would have saggy top corners with just one hanger, you can try another technique. Before attaching binding to front, place two squares of fabric that have been folded in 1/2 diagonally into the top two corners on the back of the quilt, matching raw edges. Attach binding to front as per usual. Now you have two little corner pockets to slide a dowel into!

Susana Neiger said...

Beautiful work! I know what you mean about getting a "festive" feel without ONLY using "Christmas" prints! Great thinking on the hanging loops, too! Super easy! Nice work.

Go-Go Kim said...

Mini's are my new favorite and yours is super cute!

Megan said...

Hehe. :) LOVE it! Thanks for linking up to {Sew} Modern Monday and have a great week!

Tammy @ she wears flowers said...

Love this! I can't wait to see more of your blog!!

Christine said...

Ooh, I love your loops!! My vintage elephant quilt that my mom made for me 40+ years ago has so many little tack and nail holes in it now :(
I love your Christmas theme and how you were able to use your stash. You were still able to find some very festive, wintery patterns...adorable quilt.

Lucy | Charm About You said...

Gorgeous Heather!!

Anne said...

It looks great. Very festive even without candy canes and reindeer! :oD

Jennie {Clover and Violet} said...

Very cute! And thanks for linking up!

Francine said...

Thank you for this tute! I just linked to you on my blog! ;)